Revenge of the Titans 4: Heart of Tartarus Part 1
by Tenkai Nankobo 101
Summary: First of a two-part project invites you to join Gabriel and the demigods of Camp Half-Blood a final time for the siege against the Titan Prometheus. As events progress to the siege itself, Gabriel's past is revealed bit by bit until he finally fights it.
1. Title and Table of Contents

Revenge of the Titans

The Heart of Tartarus

Part I

By

Christopher Cleveland

Table of Contents

Nico: Explaining what I saw while in the coma and afterward

Thalia: Some luck in my new mission and some surprise with it

Gabriel: My departure from Camp to find clues about my past

Annabeth: Preparing for war with Percy in the strangest way ever

Gabriel: An unexpected but massive blast from the past

Percy: Finding help in the war against Prometheus

Annabeth: The first assault on the Camp begins and my first duel

Nico: Getting permission from my Dad to use some undead reinforcements

Thalia: Returning to Camp and ending the first assault on it

Percy: The second assault on Camp Half-Blood begins after I return

Thalia: The end of the second assault and Gabriel's triumphant return to Camp

Nico: Percy and I witness Annabeth's capture by Prometheus


	2. Nico: The vision I had during my coma

Nico: Explaining what I saw while in the coma and afterward

Let me tell you, returning to consciousness after two weeks in a coma protected by Hypnos was not a wonderful experience. Yes, I had Percy there to help me wake up as well as other voices joining in but it was still a painful transition. Luckily, during my time in the coma, I had had visions that I supposed would relate to this fight against Prometheus. After waking up and getting back on my feet for a day or two, I told Percy to have Chiron calling a meeting strictly between the Cabin leaders.

"If what I explain is related to what's going on right now, we may be in for a surprise in the next few days or so. Gabriel will especially need to know this so have Chiron request his presence in this," I explained to him. Percy did as I instructed and soon, a meeting was underway about what I had seen in my visions. Gabriel was there in full battle armor and I knew this was probably one of if not the last meeting that we would have, as Gabriel was not the only one in battle armor.

In fact, I was the only one wearing no battle armor at that meeting until I requested that a suit be made for me. "Nico, it's good to have you back and are you sure you want to have this meeting now? We could postpone it until you're dressed in your armor and have had something to eat," Chiron asked. I shook my head no and said that if I told it any later then I might as well not remember what I saw while I was in that trance at all.

"So Nico, what have you to tell us that may concern the war?" Chiron inquired. I was a little thrown off by the tone of voice he used at first but I continued when Gabriel sneered at him then insisted I continue. "I had several visions while I was knocked out so I will only tell the ones that were real clear and very serious," I said. It was true, there were a whole bunch of visions I could recall but almost none of them except a few were really serious.

"The first serious vision occurred after I had been knocked out and foretold of Ouranos' death by Gabriel's blade. Did that come to pass?" I asked. "It did and I have obtained the Sky Sword out of it," Gabriel answered. Nico smiled and was glad to see that his friend had gone through with the mission because then they wouldn't be here talking right now.

"The next one happened shortly after the vision of Ouranos' death came to me. This one showed me some cabins on fire at Camp Half-Blood and demigods running all over the place to take positions for a battle that was destroying the camp. As far as I'm concerned that one has yet to happen but it still could with a little Titan help," I explained. "This vision tells me that I was right to have us prepare for war; it sounds to me like what the Camp would have been like if I never came here and the Titans caught you off guard," Gabriel said.

"Yes he's right but the next vision is one I don't really understand. It has some sort of dragon-bird mix carrying a woman off into a pit beneath the earth and a man in armor following them. Rope was tied to his leg that glowed blue and he jumped after the damsel as well as the monster carrying her off," I explained. "Is that the most vivid of them all?" Percy asked.

I nodded and said that to this day, I could not understand who the man or the woman were. Only that the monster carrying off the woman meant trouble for us in the future. "I had another one after that: one where an entire army of Grecian warriors came charging down a hill to possibly their deaths. The only thing was that I could read no signs of life in these warriors so my guess is that my power to bring up souls will have to be put to work again soon," I explained.

"But it's too soon after your greatest work, you still haven't fully recovered from the effects of raising that army that attacked Mount Orthys. You would surely die if you were to do it again too soon, I mean, you are lucky to be even alive after that last endeavor," Annabeth said. I assured her that due to the vagueness of it, I was not sure if it would be soon or if it would be later.

"Besides, I can always ask my father for permission to do it and that would not take any power out of me. Gabriel might know this army of Grecian warriors well enough to maybe even hand them over to Hades so that I could do it with his permission," I explained. "It's true, a long time ago I had been leased ten thousand Spartan souls by Ares since he never used them. When I found use for them more quickly than he ever could, he allowed me to keep them and now it seems to me that Hades will have to take ownership of the army," Gabriel admitted.

"The transfer won't be easy but one that is necessary if we are to surprise Prometheus should he attack this camp," I agreed. "He will try to surprise us but he will find that the only way to get any massive army into camp by land is to bring them to the front entrance. If he wants to send a smaller raiding party perhaps, then he will have to divide his men and send a battalion around to our flank where we can easily annihilate them," Annabeth added. "Yes, I don't know if this all relates to any of these visions but the last one might be of consequence to Gabriel," I said.

"Tell us or tell me at least if you think only I should hear this," Gabriel said. I sighed, deciding whether or not just to tell him in private. But I figured that if I had gone and told everyone else the other visions then I might as well tell them what the last one was. "The last real vision I had before I woke up showed a woman in a bed begging for Gabe to help her and then it flashes to a picture of this little girl being carried off by a large, black shape on an equally large horse," I explained.

I even added that the equestrian had scooped up the girl from the sea and from several mouthfuls of dangerous creatures in the water. "This sounds a lot like the story of how my cousin, Little Mary, died besides the horseman scooping her up and saving her. I don't know if that happened with my sister but you had to understand that I was young and knew nothing about comas or unconsciousness. She could have very easily have been alive, a heat-stroke waiting to happen since she was not a demigod and could not endure such pains like we can and killed when I threw her into the water," Gabriel said.

"Plus if she were still alive, you would have been saving her days if not weeks more of incredible physical pain. You were only doing what made sense to you although it went against your conscience," Annabeth said. Gabriel nodded and said nothing more about _that_ part of his life but he did say he had experienced a similar vision to my own. "It was just a few hours ago when I was sleeping and it's recurred before," he added.

"Do explain further as it may help me unravel this mystery," I requested. Any clue as to what my visions meant and in any similar dreams in anyone else was helpful. Especially if that someone else just so happened to be Gabriel or Percy at the very least. "The details of a girl being saved had a similar vividness about them besides the fact that I heard the girl cry for help just before both she and the 'horseman' both disappeared.

"However, I don't think there was a horseman that saved her. I think it was more like a god floating on air that had fetched her and then taken her under his armpit before returning to wherever he came from," Gabriel explained. "Anything else besides that in the vision that you saw?" I asked. "Just her crying for me to help her-to save her to be more precise- from the god taking her away," Gabriel answered.

"Maybe it was meant more for you than it was for me considering that it was deeper for and had more detail than when I had it. I don't know much in the way of visions and dreams when compared to the Oracle but I do have my suspicions about this one," I told him. "Then perhaps Rachel can confirm the dreams for you both, she is the Oracle after all," Annabeth said. "It's worth a shot and it's certainly a lot better than attempting to go at it blind," Percy agreed.  
>Chiron authorized a temporary recess in the meeting while Gabriel and I went down to the Oracle and asked for an explanation of the visions we had received. Heading over to the attic of the Big Cabin, we didn't know until it was too late that we were in for a surprise. Gabriel was the first to go in and to go see the Oracle while I followed closely behind him, as it was his vision more than mine was although I also had it. "Hello Nico, how have you been?" Rachel asked.<p>

"I have been just fine and you?" I answered. She said that she was good and was glad that she had a chance to see Gabriel again. "Glad to see you too but we come with a favor to ask you," Gabriel replied to her. "Ask and _hope _that I can find the answer to your question," Rachel said

"Nico and I have both had a vision to which, I am clearer to. In it, there was this girl floating in water and dangerous creatures were coming to consume her from below. Then something that seemed like a wraith or a god floating on air came in and fetched her just in the nick of time," Gabriel explained. "You both have had this vision?" she asked.

"Yes and as he told you, his is more clear and I am sure it was meant for him more than me," I answered. "I'll see what I can do, lately the Oracle's spirit has been kind of silent for some odd reason," she said. "I don't need a prophecy, just to use her power to find the answer to this dream," Gabriel assured her. After that Rachel closed her eyes, placed the index and middle fingers of each hand against each side of her forehead, and tried to tap into the spirit of the Oracle within her.

For several minutes, nothing happened besides her constant humming that was either part of the ritual or had unconsciously came up from her throat anyway. Then something I recognized (though Gabriel somehow did since he held me back) began to happen to her. She began to shake and spasm out of control until at last, when her eyes opened, she seemed possessed by some other deity and at first I thought it was the Oracle. "Turn back from this path, Gabriel Johnson!" a foreign voice said.

Then it added that the dangers of following the vision were greater than either of us knew. "Well, from that comment, I can guess that it wasn't you who gave us the vision. Was it Hera?" Gabriel asked. "No, it was not I but I cannot tell you who it was," Hera answered through Rachel.

"You know this sort of thing when it happens?" I asked. "Yes, sometimes the gods will possess those that serve them and aren't demigods in order to more quickly deliver a message to a demigod if necessary. It's seldom used even with me but when it is, it's either with people who can already see visions or those who are dead," he answered. "You remember the last time I used this power don't you?" Hera asked.

"Yeah, last time you used this power was to prevent Thanatos from killing me. That conversation using dead bodies was weird as hell but definitely not as weird as this," Gabriel answered. I decided it was not something for me to concern myself with and let it continue. "Retreat now, keep going with your war effort, and forget this vision that you have been told," Hera said.

"I will not for there may be a clue to victory over this war hidden in the vision. Maybe even several clues that we would miss when trying to go at it any other way," Gabriel replied. "It is a vision best left untouched, please-" Hera began before Gabriel interrupted her. "If it's something related to my cousin, you would do good to stay out of my way," Gabriel said.

Hera's hold over Rachel left and she was back to her normal self with surprisingly no knowledge of the conversation she had been used for transpiration. "Believe me, you're better off not knowing what had been said for it concerns me more than it concerns you or Nico really," Gabriel told her. "That's comforting, well, I hope you get it all sorted out but I really wish it had been a prophecy rather than some goddess possessing my mind and then erasing my memory of the conversation that happened," Rachel said. "How did you know your memory was erased?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, there's this big space of blackness between when I tried to connect with the spirit of the Oracle and now. Hey Gabe, you're the expert on deities, do you know how or why that would happen?" Rachel inquired. "Well it's actually quite simple: it's a question of confidentiality on the part of the god possessing you. It's a rarely used power because it's dangerous and can sometimes kill those in their possession if they're not already dead," Gabriel explained.

"Better to know nothing than to be dead for knowing, I guess. Good to see you again Gabe and you, Nico," she said. "Yeah good seeing you too, hope nothing else that's weird happens to you now," I teased. "Let us know if the Oracle randomly tells you anything or not, it would be good to be informed of what lies ahead," Gabriel said.

Rachel nodded and wished us goodbye before we headed back out the door and to the rest of Camp. The war formations were good, the walls were lined with every Grecian weapon you could think of from pots of molten metal to crossbows the size of a cannon that shot out javelin-sized arrows. Actually, they were at least four times the size of javelins with a deadliness to match. "These weapons serve only one purpose: to destroy the enemies of the gods," Gabriel said.

He carried a certain weight about those words as though they were poison he needed to spit out before he swallowed it. I even said it aloud to him and his answer to that comment surprised me. "Whenever _all _the gods are concerned, a weight falls on me for two reasons: first, it may mean the end of my love Eos if I fail and second, the fact that Hera has put me through so much misery that it is only logical to seek some form of justice or revenge," he explained. "How much do you love Eos and hate Hera?" I asked. He looked at me as though he wanted to kill me and for a little bit, I thought he was initially. Then he answered, "Did you really have to ask that question of me at this moment?" I replied to that by shaking my head and asking if we should proceed to which he agreed.


	3. Thalia: Finding Prometheus' new home

Thalia: Some luck in my new mission and some surprise with it

Riding with the Hunters of Artemis, I had already reached the La Sal Mountains where Prometheus was supposed to have hidden himself. But so far, neither myself or any of my Hunters found any sign that Prometheus was even there. Then something happened and the ground around me began to fade away as I was suddenly levitated up to the tallest mountain in the range. There, I found him waiting for me: Prometheus had been expecting me from the way he greeted me, adding that it was good to see me again.

"My lord, we found her alongside Mount Haystack and believe there may be more of her kind around there," a soldier said. "Good work Commander, leave us now. Find her companions and bring them to me alive if possible," Prometheus ordered, the Black Sword of the Night hanging at his belt. "So glad you could see my hideout for it will make no difference what you do at Camp to prepare for my arrival," he began.

"What do you mean Prometheus?" I asked. "You see, you only have at most two thousand demigods if I recall correctly. My army numbers a hundred times as many and will not even need to surround Camp Half-Blood to overwhelm it," he answered. "We don't plan to achieve victory through strength of arms but through strength of minds," I told him and that had to be true.

I was already aware that his forces would greatly outnumber ours and Gabriel had made sure to hammer that into our heads. However, two hundred thousand (in a moment I was about to see precisely that meaning preparing for battle) was far too overwhelming for me to not be surprised. "How did you manage to rake up so many so quickly?" I asked.

"For one thing, the deity of Tartarus was more than willing to raise enough dead to aid me. And for another thing, I have received the Blessing of the Night that works almost like the way the Hydra does. Cut off a head on one of my soldiers and the severed body shall regenerate its head while the severed head grows a new body. The same principal applies no matter what part you cut of one solider whether it be an arm or a leg," he explained.

"Then that must mean the same flaw applies as well. Apply fire to the wounded area and the soldier cannot regenerate what it lost. Or just blow them to bits with fire, which usually has never been an option," I inquired. "Very good, you have already figured out the weakness of this army but what difference does it make?" he mocked. "You think we'll still be slaughtered even if I know how to defeat them but we have the demigod son of Kronos on our side," I assured him.

"Oh I know you have that _boy _on your side. If only he were aware of what he could be. You know, he could have already been more powerful a Titan than even his father," Prometheus replied. I had no comment or question so he continued to elaborate what he said.

"When Kronos gave his mark, he was trying to make him immortal so that he could destroy Zeus and take what was his by right. Kronos knew he was already fated to fail again as Gabriel's siblings and Olympian family would always be powerful enough to crush us rebel Titans. So he tried to give Gabriel a chance to act as an extension of the revenge of the Titans and bring our glory back to us and more," he explained, to which I was not surprised. "Mark, what mark?" I asked.

"Oh, ask Annabeth to tell you about it for only she knows of the mark when immortals are excluded," Prometheus answered. "I suppose you'll be counting on me doing that in order to disassemble the unity of the Camp. It won't work and even you know that deep down as you have the ability of foresight," I snapped. "I don't care for the unity of the Camp; tell you the truth, I _hope _they fight as one when I arrive so I can destroy them all at once," Prometheus calmly replied.

That made me shutter in my mind and he smiled, indicating he had somehow picked up on that. "I actually have a mind to let you go right now and I have even send a telepathic message to cancel the search for your friends. Do nothing to change my mind in the next few moments and you will be spared. And if you need knowledge of what I mean, do not speak when I send this little message to him through you," he said.

"I guess I can fulfill a request meant for Gabriel but I don't expect Chiron will like that too much," I told him. "The goddess you serve understands that you are under _my _thumb and will have to cooperate in order to escape this place. Do not worry for Chiron knowing that Artemis is not to be worried about," he replied. "Then I am ready to deliver your message," I said.

He smiled, chuckled to himself before finally saying what the message was. "Tell him that the vision he and Nico experienced were my doing. The meaning is simple: his cousin Little Mary lives as my captive in a palace that used to belong to Hyperion himself," he said to me. "I suppose there's a catch to this revelation too," I said.

He nodded and said that the catch was that she was guarded by Hyperion's forces, now under the command of Prometheus. "What's more is that years of torment have somewhat… enlightened her to the treachery of the Olympians," he added. I knew this was going to be very difficult for Gabriel to bite on but something in my heart told me he had to know. For almost six years, he had been forced to assume she was dead and although some small part of him believed she was still alive it was a relatively dormant part of his mind.

Especially when time passed by and he had been forced to focus on his service to Olympus more than on trying to find her. "Your friends are being teleported back to their camp and I will see to it that you have the same means back home. Gabriel will have quite the surprising chat when you talk to him on the Iris-message with the fountain I have provided you as well as the drachma in your left pocket," Prometheus said. Somehow, he knew about my lucky coin but something had me on edge.

Why the hell would he give us a fountain if we were the enemy? Did he want something with Gabriel? I asked the latter question and he was surprised I was even thinking about that. "Yes, I do have something a little personal to deal with him on: my brothers Atlas and Epimetheus are dead because of him," Prometheus said.

"I'll admit to you right now that I am the one who killed Atlas. As to who murdered Epimetheus, I have no clue. This is the truth and if you wish to avenge Atlas, kill me now," I confessed. "So selfless of you to just give yourself up but keep in mind that were it not for Gabriel, you would never have fought Atlas nor would you have killed him," he replied.

I had to admit he had a point there and he continued by saying his grudge still lied with Gabriel. "How many times can the fountain be used? I mean, for Iris-messages and all that," I asked. "Just once so make your chat with him long and meaningful," Prometheus answered.

"Thank you, Lord Prometheus. You have been wise, generous, and benevolent to the Hunters of Artemis," I said. Though I honestly believed I had had better hosts in my life, I had to admit that Prometheus impressed me with how respectful of Zeus' hospitality law he had been. Sadly, the fountain was not much when compared to previous fountains I had used.

Still, it was enough to deliver one Iris-message to Camp before disintegrating. Prometheus had been right about that much when he said it would only be good for one use. Truthfully, I had trouble deciding how I would tell Gabriel that his cousin was still alive when he had presumed her dead six years ago. Do I just blurt it out and let him sort out how to figure out if I was telling the truth or do I tell him everything?

I decided to be as clear and direct as I could be in telling him the truth about his cousin's continued existence. After making that painful decision, I recited the chant and told the Iris-message who I wished to be connected with. When an image of Gabriel appeared, he greeted me and told me he was glad to see me. "So have you found where Prometheus is holing up yet?" he asked.

"Actually, after two weeks on this mission, I have. And it's not the only thing I found," I answered. He asked to know more and I told him about how I had seen Prometheus' army and how they numbered two hundred thousand. "The most we can rally at a single time is around a hundredth of that number with weapons that make us look even bigger.

"I'm installing a mine field out at the front of the camp that will be controlled by remote for precisely this kind of situation," he said. I nodded and he apparently noticed I was hiding something by the look on my face. "Gabriel, you might not want to hear this even though it concerns the vision you and Nico had," I told him. "What is it, does Prometheus know about the vision?" Gabriel asked.

"He was the one who sent it to you with reasons you won't want to hear about," I answered. "Tell me," he ordered. With a sigh, I told him about his cousin and how Prometheus said she was being kept in Hyperion's old fortress. I reluctantly told him about how she was there under torment and had been ever since that day when he mistook her for dead and nearly fed her to the sharks.

"Then the gods have lied to me about her like I thought they had. For years, I assumed that the crunching sounds of the sharks' biting was of them eating my cousin but I was wrong. Prometheus simply used the Mist to prevent me from seeing her rescue and the Olympians knew about it although they didn't tell me. I wonder how many more of my 'memories' have been cases of the Mist being used to hide me from the truth," he said.

"Please Gabriel, we need you coolheaded and more so now than ever before. I fought you and I have seen what an incredible power your rage gives you. Please don't be so enraged as to rebel against the gods now," I begged. "I'm not _that _enraged at all of the gods but just one," he said.

I knew who he was talking about and I begged him not to go against her. "As I said before, I'm not so enraged as to rebel now. However, I am enraged enough to make sure she knows what pain she has put me through," he told me. "I hope that's all; I'm returning to Camp now that I've found his hideout but please keep out of trouble at least until I arrive," I asked. I never got to find out the answer to my plea until it was too late.


	4. Gabriel: Leaving Camp to search my past

Gabriel: My departure from Camp to find someone from my past

"Hera, you lied to me! You told me my cousin was dead but she lives in torment at Hyperion's former home! She lives you goddamn bitch!" I shouted, cursing at the statue of Hera in her Cabin. When the statue did not respond (I knew Hera would be using it to communicate with me if she wanted to), I shouted for Hera's name to get her attention.

I was so blinded by anger at that moment that just the right course of actions could trigger my rage. Sure enough, my anger was triggered when the statue started talking behind my back. "I warned you that following this vision would do you no good. I'm sorry I lied to you and I'm sorry for what I've done but I assure you that it was all done for a reason," she said.

Blinded by anger, I turned my sword on the statue at that point and demolished the entire upper half of it. The head of the statue fell and broke in two with one piece turning to powder but enough of a mouth on the other for her to continue using it if she wished. "You _will _pay for that, brother or not, in full someday!" she shouted before she went out. "No Hera, I will not pay for breaking a statue; you will pay for all the evil you have done to me someday," I told her.

Rage still consuming my heart, I smashed the last half of the marble head of the statue under my foot until it was also powder. The desecration of Hera's image had been completed and now, I could continue with my other work. "Let that be a small sample of my revenge for you to taste at this moment," I said more to myself than anybody else. Suddenly, my rage lifted over me and I saw that Annabeth was looking at me like she had seen a ghost.

Considering what I had done, she might as well have been seeing a ghost. "You desecrated… _Hera's_ image of all goddesses?" she asked. I think it was rhetorical but I decided to answer it like it wasn't anyway. "I did and I will accept the consequences in time just not when I can still take even more drastic action against her," I answered.

"What more could you do?" she asked. "Challenge the goddess to a showdown of skill-against-skill alone. The part that would be best about is declaring it in a very brief amount of time like a half an hour or so. Because then she'll have to take drastic measures if she wants to cheat," I answered.

"You can't win even if she had no time to cheat off of Ares! You're a mortal and she's a goddesses," Annabeth exclaimed. "That's precisely what Tethys said before I ripped her head from her shoulders," I replied. She paled and I knew I had surprised her with how violently Tethys had met her end.

The worst part was how open and calm I had been about exchanging how Tethys had been killed by my hand. I am usually very secretive about that since Poseidon kind of wanted it confidential. "Annabeth, I'm mounting an expedition to find my cousin. Keep going with the preparations and don't wait for my return in case Prometheus decides to move before that's possible," I told her. It's not that I didn't care about the Camp (I cared for it deeply), it was just I had to find my cousin and I had to know more about my past and find out what was true and the gods had been keeping away from me.

"I'm sorry Annabeth but in order to effectively lead you and the other demigods, I have to get this over with. Would you rather have me with a cool head on my shoulder or one that has multiple thoughts racing across its mind?" I said to her. "Would you like a ceremony to bid you farewell or do you want a quick, confidential leave of absence?" Annabeth asked. "Quick one will be easier and I'll just take a few hundred bucks; I hate eating that healthy organic crap you guys have here," I answered.

She giggled in agreement and it was not long before I was parting from Camp Half-Blood. Now I know I have not been there as long as I have been on Olympus training but one vast difference between them made it hard for me to leave. Unlike Olympus, Camp Half-Blood had comforts and love that I had never known in my entire life except when I was with Eos. Leaving it behind was like abandoning some part of myself and expecting to get over it within the hour.

It was not long before the Half-Blood Hill was walked over and I was on my way back to the dangerous world of monsters, magic, and mortals. I called the nearest bus station from a payphone and asked when the next bus was due for Cleveland, Ohio where Hyperion's fortress had been when I last saw it two days ago. The thing about it was that it almost always changed location and I had heard from Hermes that it was due to move to Corpus Christi Texas in another week or so. "By the way, Hera's pissed about your desecration of her image at Camp Half-Blood but I think it was cool," he added before I told him to go back and tell her to suck it.

"As you wish but don't get mad at me when you hear from her in person about that comment. I mean I admire your courage but normally I don't make these sorts of runs since they're too uncouth and uncivilized," Hermes replied. "Oh don't worry Hermes, I _hope _she comes to me responding to my comment in the only way she can respond to anything," I told him. He shrugged and vanished in an instant, his sandals flying him across the world at the speed of sound.

I soon arrived at the bus station due to carry me to Cleveland for the four days they said I would be on it. In the meantime, I decided to read the Aeneid by Publius Virgilius Maro a.k.a. Virgil. Then it struck me that Bryan was on a similar sort of journey and I decided to see if I could use my telepathic connection with him to call him and say howdy. _Yo Bryan, what up man? _I asked telepathically.

At first, I heard no response then I heard him say hello back and ask how I was. _On my way to find someone I had once assumed dead but have now been informed is still alive. Remember how I told you about my cousin and how I thought she was dead? _I asked him telepathically. _Yeah, it was the most difficult thing for you to ever tell me; is she the one who's still alive when you had assumed her dead? _he answered.

I told him she was and he replied that he wished me luck in finding her. _Prometheus has already been kind enough to have Thalia tell me where I can find her. I'll be heading to Cleveland, Ohio via bus right now _I told him. _Be careful, when a Titan tells you something of that sort then there's a good reason as to why _Brian said.

At that point, I assured him that I was aware of that and he then decided to tell me he had to leave. _We're approaching some heavy weather and may have to settle on a nearby island before we continue our journey. That's assuming there are any islands nearby, of course _he added. _I wish you luck on finding a place for your people, you truly deserve it after all you've been through; where are you now? _I asked.

_ We're far beyond the shores of Florida, past Cuba and nearing the end of the Caribbean _he answered. That surprised me and I wished him luck just before he disconnected from communications with me. After that take of leave, my first clue that I was even headed in the right direction was when the bus was stopped by a big man (about six feet and seven inches tall) that wielded a huge spear in a bus stop. I realized immediately this was a champion of the gods from Japan named Sakon Shima and it was apparent that he noticed me as well since he winked at me before deciding he would just take the next bus.

_That can't be right, he died at Sekigahara fighting the samurai commanded by Tokugawa Ieyasu! If he's alive right now that means the Titans know I'm coming or worse, this is Hera's response to my desecration to her image _I thought to myself. "Ladies and gentleman, this is where we stop to refuel the bus and keep in mind this baby has been running without a stop for a solid two days so it will be at least two hours before we're ready to keep going and another half hour before we're back on the road," the driver announced on the speakers. _Oh shit, now I have to run a gauntlet with Sakon and see if he's really after me or if I'm just using him as an excuse to surprise or scare myself _I told myself. 

Carefully, as Perseus had taught it, I walked in the thick of the line in the hopes he didn't dare attack innocent people. Surprisingly, the strategy proved effective until the crowd began to split up and I was left in the open. It was at that point that Sakon began marching toward me and I knew I would have to meet him in combat if that was what he was here for. As I thought, he was indeed here to kill me and started out by jabbing the head of his spear at me and shouting that he would kill me in the name of his mistress.

"Uh, just who the hell is your mistress anyway?" I asked. "Why, I think you'd know who she is considering that you desecrated her image in your anger. Now, quit talking and let us see who is the greater warrior between the second in command to Mitsunari Ishida of Japan and the demigod son of Kronos himself," Sakon answered. If there's anything I remembered learning from Perseus that I could immediately remembered, it's that warriors like Sakon were only defeated through superior skill and one or both of two other things.

The first thing was to have a group of warriors that were also highly skilled to fight as a unison with you. Whether you had that or not, the second thing was a quick-thinking brain that exploited their past deeds and used their pride against them. "So Sakon, tell me. What was it like at the Battle of Sekigahara, I heard you fought with honor there and I wanted to just confirm those rumors," I asked.

When he moved to speak, I struck and I struck with the powers of the Sky Sword and calling a lightning bolt to immobilize him. After that, I noticed a peal bracelet that he had on and I knew it for a clue instantly. I snatched it through the use of telekinesis and took it with me because I knew that Hera used to use it as a means of finding me whenever I was gone too long. It glowed more brightly with each inch you came closer to your destination and I told it that I was looking for my cousin at Hyperion's fortress.

Immediately it began to glow with a brightness that told me that I was more than a fourth of the way there. That was a good sign and I made sure to hold on to it as tightly as I could. For one, the light of it would disturb the other passengers at night and for another, I didn't want to fight mortals as it was forbidden for Olympian champions to do so unless there was just no choice. And I didn't want to give myself an excuse to harm innocent mortals who were just a little upset about their sleep being disrupted by a bright light.


	5. Annabeth: Preparing for war oddly

Annabeth: Preparing for war with Percy in the strangest way ever

With Gabriel gone, it was hard to find solid leadership and discipline in the Council. Nico had to go make the proper arrangements for the undead Spartans to be summoned back to this world and Chiron had somehow managed to take over Gabriel's place as our leader. However, he seldom called for meetings and it was really beginning to piss me off. So Percy and I arranged for Cabin leaders to meet in secret, without his permission, and proceed with the plans Gabriel had left behind in case something like this happened.

I knew Gabriel would not want that and so did Percy but both of us understood that he would have accepted it as a necessity when he saw our situation. Plus he had told us that the most subtle actions sometimes led to the best answers so I guess there was nothing subtle in the actions we took to look professional in his absence. The public story was that he had left to see if there was anything more we could do to fortify and protect our Camp without having to sacrifice very many people. So the final stages of Gabriel's biggest plans were set into motion like the gears of a complex machine but something was still missing from it all.

While on break from figuring out how to save this camp, Percy and I made love once more. We drowned ourselves in our pleasure and because he was armed with the Curse of Achilles, the best of it was better than any one-night stand with an average man. Not that I had one but hey, the Curse of Achilles certainly granted Percy more power in every way than any other man. Okay, I'm overindulging the details but I just get so swept into the memories of our nights together in spite of the protection failing and us having to stop until Percy had another condom on.

This session had already been going strong for at least an hour and a half with me only taking half an hour to wear out. Yeah, says something in the way of Percy's improved status with the Curse of Achilles. I just hoped that when and if it were taken from him, he would have an imprint of it and the imprint was this uncanny sexual stamina. It was silly just keeping my legs spread and watching him working the intricacies of a condom before he finally returned to bed.

I was thinking about all this, I realized a possible way we could be saved from any chance of defeat. "Percy, have you ever thought that maybe what we need for the war effort is to lure the enemy in instead of keeping them out?" I asked. "What do you mean?" he answered as he kissed my breasts repeatedly and kept thrusting. Between thrusts I told him about how maybe the walls shouldn't be so important as surprising them by letting them in and then annihilating them after we had gone through everything else.

"You're the daughter of Athena and our strategist in the absence of Gabriel. You figure how all of that works and I'll see to it that your plan is fulfilled. Step by little step," he replied. "Well that's the best I can come up with right now and I admit it isn't much but it is something," I told him.

"Gabriel would be pleased with your brilliant mind," Percy said as he kept biting at my breasts in an erotic manner. It was all it took to sweep me from the war efforts and the realm of eternal pleasure. The Curse of Achilles did its work from there and in the morning, I made sure to remember my idea. Chiron would need to hear about this war strategy although I wasn't sure he needed to hear how I came up with it.


	6. Gabriel: A blast from the past

Gabriel: An unexpected but massive blast from the past

Find Hyperion's fortress after four days of journeying? Check. Bust down the door and begin fighting my way to my cousin? Check.

Find out where my cousin was being hidden? Well, I still had to find out from one of the soldiers since my logic was that they all had to know if they were to keep her hostage. I grabbed one and demanded to know where she was immediately after busting down the front door and killing hundreds if not thousands of them in a blur of movement. "She dwells in torment at the top of the tallest tower of this fortress, her arms chained so that she is hung up a few feet off the ground," he said before I finished him.

I used him as a shield against the arrows of his buddy then continued my journey from there. Breaking through the lower levels, I made it to the elevator that would take me by all but the last six floors before the top of the high tower. In all, I traveled up one hundred and forty-two floors without opposition from the enemy forces that dwelled in Hyperion's home. It was when I arrived at my stop that I knew I would be facing the true might of the defenses Hyperion had activated in case he was unable to return home.

Thousands upon thousands of soldiers swarmed upon me but I knew I could wipe away these bums like I was wiping a stain off glass. The power of the Sky Sword saw through most of them but whatever it didn't kill was killed by a mix of hand-to-hand martial art techniques. I even used a move to throw one soldier into a wall hard enough to shatter every bone and leave a massive crater in the wall. Nonetheless I climbed ropes, ran along short bridges that required incredible balancing skills, and fought soldiers until at last, I reached the final floor of the tower.

There, I saw someone I would never expect to have seen here: Sakon. For a brief time, we fought fiercely at the entrance to the top floor of the tower then I came up with an idea. Since I saw that there was a keyhole in the shape of a blade too big for my Sky Sword, I goaded Sakon into trying to skewer me on his spear. I dodged in the nick of time and saw that his spear fit perfectly inside the key to the doorway.

His spear was immediately absorbed into the door and it opened with a slow creak and a gradual turn inward. Sakon and I watched as the gate opened to reveal a teenage Little Mary, chained by her arms so that she was hanging several feet off the ground. "Hmm, perhaps it's best you and I don't fight right now. If anything happens to her, I'll be behind you," Sakon said.

"Whoa, what?" I asked. It didn't make sense because for one thing, this guy had been sent to kill me by Hera. Now he was saying he was going to help me if anything happened with my cousin? Well, I had little choice but to trust him especially after he told me that though Hera's order had been to destroy me, Zeus' overruling order was to try and prevent me from reaching my cousin even if it _did _take killing but protect me if I did reach her anyway.

Nonetheless, reached her I had and after years of speculation about her existence, my questions were answered. Or so I initially thought before I asked Sakon to help me break the chains that held her up. I caught her in my arms while Sakon sheathed his sword and told me to be careful. Since she was her eyes were closed and she didn't seem to move, I asked if she could hear me and introduced myself as her cousin.

"I… can… hear you… perfectly," she said with effort. "I've come to get you out of here. Come with me back to this cool place called Camp Half-Blood where you'll be safe," I told her. "I cannot," she said. "What has you so certain when I know someone can heal you of your torment here at least physically and if Dionysus happens to be there, he can heal any developing madness in you?" I asked.

"Hyperion cursed my body to explode if I ever left this tower, that's what. And you, Mr. Beefcake, don't have much time before the remainder of his forces find and overwhelm you," she answered. At first, I thought she was talking to Sakon because she turned slightly toward him then I remembered she always called me Mr. Beefcake because of the build I had even when I was a kid. Suddenly, I saw Sakon fighting off the bulk of Hyperion's forces and I knew she was right and I would have to either help Sakon or leave him and hope he died.

As much as he had tried to kill me twice and I hated him for it, I kind of liked him in a strange way. "Leave him, your mother needs you more than he does," she said. I paused there and remained in a near-catatonic state of surprise. My mother alive when I had seen her killed her by Kronos and the gods confirming it?

"My mother? But she has been dead since I was just a couple years old," I told her. "No, your housekeeper was the one who died that day. She sacrificed herself to save you and her from the bulk of Kronos' anger but it was when Kronos was calmer that he decided to think of something worse for your mother and she still suffers it to this day," she explained to me.

"If my mother is alive, where _is _she?" I asked her. "To know would only bring pain upon you," she answered. But I pressed on, about to do anything to have my mother after these years of believing she was dead and believing she wasn't simultaneously. I was not about to lose a chance to save her now and I would go to any depth of this world or the Underworld to rescue her.

That was just a coincidence for what I found out: she _was _in fact in the Underworld in spite of her status as a living person. She was in the Heart of Tartarus itself, trapped in torment in Kronos' place, the Titan having cursed her to never be free unless either I rescued her or she willingly fell into oblivion. I was determined to let it be the former rather than the latter and asked Little Mary about how I could enter the Underworld. "Only with the guidance of the son of Hades or the permission of the Lord himself can you hope to enter the Underworld without having some defense measure against the Furies and Cerberus," Little Mary said.

"Come with me, I can protect you from the curse that keeps you in this tower. Hell, I can probably undo it!" I begged. "You cannot undo the powers of a god and be a mortal," Little Mary replied. "I've killed gods Little Mary and I _did _kill Hyperion," I told her.

"Listen to him, lass. It's all truth and no deceit," Sakon added. "Curses cannot be undone solely with the death of the god themselves. Only one of Hyperion's children who is closest to your heart can undo the curse," Little Mary replied.

"I think I know who meets those requirements," I said. For a brief moment, I gently placed Little Mary on the floor and used telepathy to call to Eos. _Oh divine love of thy mortal life, I call upon thou to free thy sister from the curse thy father hast left on her _I said. She was always attracted to Medieval English rather than Modern English so I simply did what would attract her to my location better.

And just like that the roof to the fortress was torn away as a shooting star descended from the skies, shrinking until it was about the size of a person and metamorphosed into a human form. "Let me see her," Eos said, immediately after arriving. I handed my cousin over to Eos and she went straight into her examinations of Little Mary. After quickly examining her, Eos told me something I wished I didn't have to hear from her.

"My love, I have to take her with me. She is freed of the curse but something else has sprung in its place and is working to kill her. If I succeed, you will see her again but if I don't then forgive me," she said before flying into the skies again. I watched as she took my cousin to Olympus and Sakon told me that I had to go before it was too late.

"What about you?" I asked. "Though I served Hera, Zeus' orders took precedence over hers. His orders were to help you through this as best I could and right now, the best way is for you to get out of here while I hold off Hyperion's forces," he answered. I nodded and turned toward the balcony that was not too far away from where I was and decided to make a mad dash for it.

I made it with ease but before I jumped, Sakon called back to me. "Don't trust the gods fully Gabriel, it will cost you everything," Sakon said. "I already don't," I said before jumping and seeing Sakon turn himself into a suicide bomb. Just as I was about halfway across to the nearest tower, the one I escaped exploded and fell opposite of my direction.

_What a dedicated warrior although I didn't like that shift in loyalty _I said to myself. Then I had to remember that I had made such a shift when I had served Hera but not on any orders from Zeus. My reason was good but it was definitely not on orders from Zeus. _There is a time and place for the past and now is not it _a foreign voice said to me.

_Who are you and how do you know me? _I asked the voice. _You will come to know soon enough but now, you must hurry back to Camp Half-Blood. Prometheus means to launch his assault in a few hours and neither you nor Percy Jackson are there to lead them _the voice answered. _Where did Percy go? _I inquired.

_To find help more quickly while you were away via the request of his girlfriend Annabeth _the voice explained. I knew I had to get back to Camp now and ran just as the fortress that had once belonged to Hyperion began to crumble and explode in my face. I had just barely got past the walls of the place when it fell before me and I saw the magic of that palace unleashed across the plains where it had been contained in.

As for that voice, I wondered what if could have been. Something familiar was carried within it, something that I had lost long ago and was about to recover. But finding out what it was would have to wait for another time. A time when I wasn't running like there was no tomorrow to reach the Camp before it was attacked.

I even had to use the supersonic speed of the gods in order to even cover enough ground to reach it walking in an hour. When I was back, I immediately told the campers to seal the gates and prepare for war. "What about calling for the help of the gods?" one camper asked. "The hell with that besides, they can't help us anyway as Zeus has forbidden it," I answered.

That was true and Zeus had even taken the liberty of telling me that himself along the way via telepathy. _I have faith in your leadership. Prove Hera wrong about you like you tried, years ago _he said. Now I knew this battle was not just a battle for revenge: it was a battle for my very soul and to decide whether or not I would be damned or blessed.


	7. Percy: Finding help in the war

Percy: Finding help in the war against Prometheus

Gabriel's absence to find who he was left Chiron back in the old position of leading the camp. But he was not about to let Gabriel's preparations continue so easily and I knew he would soon find out what we were doing and try to intervene. After my night with Annabeth, I decided I would take a little journey of my own. A journey to the Palace of Eos, the dawn goddess herself, and find out if there was any way she could help keep Chiron blind from the war efforts or at least help it keep going.

My journey was very short as Eos apparently wanted to see me as soon as I could spare the time. "I needed to see you because I fear for Gabriel and you are the only one who is even remotely close to him besides Annabeth and Thalia. His cousin is recovering remarkably well and remarkably fast but she has told him enough before entering this trance to set him on a destructive path to find himself," Eos said. "What could be so horrifying about his past that to search it would be destructive?" I asked.

"If only you knew the whole story of why we hid the truth from him. Why I was forced to never tell him although I loved him and really wanted," she answered. The look on her face told of an innocence that overshadowed all guilt but just barely. It made me even sadder that she loved him yet could not do what she knew was right without it costing heavily.

"Then show me the full story, reveal to me what happened to his mother that the gods hid from him until now. Tell me why it was so bad that he was never allowed to know the truth," I begged. I added that perhaps I would then know why Eos, her siblings, and Hestia were the only ones he truly trusted. "Percy… don't say I didn't warn you," she said before thrusting a hand onto my head.

Immediately, I was transported to a different time and a different place entirely. I was in an infirmary room where a woman was birthing and although everyone else was black and white in color (keep in mind I was in somebody's memories and could do nothing to change them) Eos maintained her colors. "This was when he was born, do you see anyone missing from amongst the gods?" she asked. At first, I couldn't notice any god or goddess missing from this but then I remembered she had not restricted the gods to just Titans or just Olympians.

"Two are missing: Hera and Kronos, correct?" I asked. Eos nodded and explained why both of them were missing. "Hera was assigned to distract the baby's own father if she couldn't kill him while Gabriel was being birthed. We had to keep his mother alive until then otherwise Gabriel would be unnatural," she said.

"But why would you be worried about Kronos doing anything to him?" I asked. "Because Kronos (not the one you fought but the one who fathered Zeus _and _Gabriel) would have eaten him like he tried to do to Zeus and almost did to Chiron were it not for the fact he would have to eat his horse part as well. The Titan who fathered the gods, Chiron, and Gabriel feared that if Gabriel were born, he would destroy him unless that cursed deity turned him into his slave," Eos answered. "Wait, I didn't fight the Titan almost two months ago?" I asked, confused.

"No, you fought the Primordial deity of Time itself and his name is spelled K-H-R-O-N-O-S or occasionally with a C rather than a K. The one you thought you fought was the one spelled K-R-O-N-O-S or C-R-O-N-U-S and he was the Titan Lord," Eos answered. "Okay, so the Titan was still roaming free whilst the God of Time played as him in order to give the Titans hope in their attempts to rebel against Olympus. Where was he after the birth of Gabriel to have him gone this long?" I asked.

"I saw that coming before you even thought to ask that of me. Let me show you that Cronus has not remained dormant all this time," Eos answered. Instantly, we were teleported to yet another place and another time where we saw Gabriel as a two-and-a-half-year-old boy that played with his mother and housekeeper. "The housekeeper became Mary's husband after Cronus deserted her and their son; he was a good man in spite of the fact that he knew who his stepson's father was and knew that if Cronus chose to return, he should not expect to defy him and live to tell about it," she explained.

I watched as little Gabriel played with a ball he seemed to like a lot by throwing it to his mother and waiting for her to throw it back at him. Now don't get me wrong, it was the perfect image of a happy family with an adorable little kid that loved to play ball apparently. "He would not have you know it but being a son of a Titan, he's autistic and that usually heightens the reflexes of a demigod even more than an ADHD or dyslexic kid such as yourself could hope for. It's because of that that he doesn't have to rely on the Curse of Achilles for power if he doesn't wish to," Eos explained.

I nodded in understanding and smiled as Gabriel continued to play with his mother and stepfather. Just then, the door came crashing down and a man dressed entirely in black said that he came for his son. "Peter, hold him off at least until I can hide Gabriel, please!" Mary begged as she picked up her son and ran out of the living room. The fear in her voice was genuine but I could tell it was not for her but for her son, just as I figured it would be.

"Where do you think you're going with my son? You dare flee from me when I have come simply to see the latest addition to my collection of children?" Cronus boomed. "You got some audacity yourself man, you broke down my fucking door and demanded to see the kid," Peter replied. Surprisingly, he drew out a long medieval sword that peasants would be seen with.

"Why that heavy weapon when you could have two very light weapons such as what my sickle can become?" Cronus taunted. Then he unsheathed a sickle that he made into two swords that looked like Backbiter and fought with both against the housekeeper. The housekeeper held his ground until at last, Mary returned but for some reason, Gabriel had followed her back out and Cronus took this opportunity to viciously mutilate the mortal man before Mary's eyes. Several links in his small intestine stuck out and he barely managed to keep it in with his hands before Cronus ravaged his face with the blades and stab him in the heart with the sickle.

"I'm sorry sir but I can't have mortal defilers touching the woman who gave birth to my golden son," Cronus said. Then he called Gabriel over to him, Mary to scared to do anything until it was almost too late. But she reached for the nearest thing she could find, which turned out to be a bottle of champagne, and smashed it over Cronus' head. Then she forced Gabriel to run and locked the bedroom behind him as he went in.

"You _dare _interfere with what must be done? Traitorous whore, you defiled your body with that mortal didn't you!" Cronus shouted. "I didn't defile myself, you left us!" Mary replied. "I had to, Zeus forbids all gods from being with their mortal kids and even I am restrained by this," Cronus said.

"You're the Lord of the Titans, you answer to no one but yourself. There was no way you could have been restrained by the rules of the Olympians," Mary said. She had quite the bravery to defy the Lord of the Titans himself but I had to remember that she was protecting her son, not herself. "You know, I really don't want to kill you so I will subject you to something worse, something only a Titan could think of," Cronus finally said after a small pause.

"What? Being your sex-slave like I was when you and I conceived Gabriel?" Mary asked. "No though that would have been more fun," Cronus answered, catching her off guard. He laughed and said that he would subject her to the tortures of the Heart of Tartarus.

"Deeper even than where my fellow Titans were confined, you will face tortures that no mortal mind has ever experienced. You will experience it all alive and when it comes time for your death, your soul will be sent into oblivion where the memory of you will be erased from this universe," he added. I gulped in fear at having to see that then suddenly, another woman (a little more elderly in look) came out from where Gabriel had been confined and began to carry him out. "Ah Hestia, are you bringing my son to me so that I may cancel Mary's little reservation in the Heart of Tartarus?" Cronus asked.

"Here you go father, he is my brother and your son after all," Hestia answered. Mary screamed and told her not to do it but Hestia turned and winked at her in assurance. Cronus unwrapped the bundle supposedly containing Gabriel to find a stone instead of his son. "You dare trick me, the Lord of the Titans, as your mother had done before you?" Cronus hissed in rage.

He opened a maelstrom of fire that began to suck everything in the room into it. Being a mistress of flames, Hestia was not affected by it but Mary was and she was instantly sent through it to Tartarus. But then Hestia did something interesting: she kept the portal open even when Cronus demanded it to be closed and she grabbed the Titan by the neck before throwing him in it as well. "A mortal can survive the Heart of Tartarus much longer than a god can," Hestia said before closing it.

For a moment, there was only silence in the room when the slight dripping of the housekeeper's blood was excluded. Then Hestia added, "Let it be that though Mary will be tortured as per your orders, father, your godly essence will be absorbed by Tartarus himself for later use while the body containing it is destroyed with no hope of restoration. However, the child must believe his mother is dead and so, this housekeeper serves his final purpose." "Do you see why we kept the truth from him and have kept it from everyone else now?" Eos asked.

"The gods lied to him about all of this?" I asked back. "We had to, Hera forbid the truth from being told to him and refused to listen to Zeus. She said it would be for his own good but I see you think differently," Eos answered. I nodded and I really did think different: it might not have been indeed "for his own good" if he had been told sooner rather than just now.

Especially when one considers his greatest challenge is yet to even come! "Do the rest of his memories consist of his service to the gods and his time at Camp Half-Blood?" I asked. "With a few sidetracks here and there, yes. Come with me, you know the rest and we have to return to the present time," Eos answered.

"Isn't there something missing from all this? Something you have to show me that even Gabriel doesn't know about?" I inquired. She stated that there in fact was something and we had to be quick if I wished to see it. "But promise me on the River Styx that you mouth will remain silent about this unless I say otherwise," she said before we went on.

I swore and she brought us to another time that was in fact, not a memory of Gabriel's but a memory of hers. Here, I saw Nadine in a hospital and giving birth to her twin children by Gabriel's seed. And it was here that I saw my biggest for hating Hera that I ever had. Nadine screamed in pain as she tried to give birth to her children desperately and she barely managed to get one out without practically wearing herself out.

But according to Eos, it had died since it did not receive the proper blessings necessary for childbirth from either Hecate or Iris. Now, Nadine was determined to give birth to a living baby even if it cost her dearly and the shade of Eos begged for Hera to let one of the goddesses bless the birth and let this one survive. But Hera refused to listen and even forbid the hands of either goddess to intervene regardless of the importance. Then I saw Eos do something that I never thought she would have the courage to do: she asked Hera that if neither goddess was going to save the baby then at least let one of them help them both escape the pain permanently.

I watched as Hecate, the only one bold enough to do such a thing, step up and recite the incantation for the death of both mother and child in labor. After that, Nadine was successful in expelling her last child but that was when she and the baby drew their last breaths of life and died. Seeing that innocent woman suffer as well twin babies that would have provided Gabriel with the beginnings of a family suffer brought upon a rage that I had never felt before. "You came to me for help, I shall give it to you now that you have bore witness to this," Eos said.

I wanted to attack Hera first chance I had now and renew Annabeth's enmity against her once this war was over. There was no way in the world I would bow down to a Queen who made her own brother suffer just because he disagreed with her in the only way he could. And now, I had to receive Eos' help and return to Camp before it was too late to do anything. "When your father tried to court me millennia before, he gave me this," she said as she pulled out a conch shell designed to be a horn.

"What am I to do with this?" I asked. Eos laughed and replied that was the same question that she had asked him when he gave it to her. "He told me that if I just thought about something I needed immediately, I only had to blow on it. I think maybe you might need to call your brother Tyson and his Cyclops army with that," she added.

Grateful, I thanked her for her help and made to walk out of her castle. "Oh Percy, I almost forgot!" she shouted to me. I turned around and asked politely what she needed and she surprised me. "Tell Gabriel that his cousin is swiftly recovering and if he battle is won, tell him to call me to Camp before he makes any move to pursue Prometheus who will surely flee," Eos asked me.

"I will be sure to tell Gabriel when he gets back from his little journey," I answered. "He's still traveling from Hyperion's fortress back to Camp? I thought he was using the supersonic speed of the gods," she stated. "I wouldn't know anything about that," I told her.

"No, I suppose not. Off you go now, I just wanted to make those last requests and give you the help you sought from me," she said. "You have been a tremendous help and I will be sure to press for a cabin built in your honor as well as the honor of your siblings," I told her. "You do us too great a kindness," she said before I exited her home.


	8. Annabeth: The first assault begins

Annabeth: The first assault on the Camp begins and my first duel

It was a normal day besides the fact that our armies were soon ready to march out to the defense of Camp Half-Blood. I had just barely finished seeing to the residents of the minor gods' cabins when it happened. One of our watchtowers got blown away by a fireball launched from in front of the Camp walls. Immediately, I instructed the kids of the minor gods to head outside while I had the alarm sounded by the children of Hermes and Chiron notified of attack.

As for the rest of the demigods, I had Malcolm ready them immediately whilst Nico took a secret passage out of Camp to attack the enemy from the flank. With Malcolm's help, I managed to immediately rally the Ares, Hephaestus, Demeter, and the Apollo cabins before issuing orders like a jabbering monkey and moving as chaotically as a decapitated chicken. Then I readied my Pegasus and flew it to places where heavy artillery had been installed and made sure the gunmen and women there were ready should the enemy come their way. From the front, I could easily see fireballs increasing in the number launched per minute from one to three and then five.

I watched as that number increased and I also saw how someone on the front side of the wall was almost ready to scale it. Before I could intercept though, I was stopped by the appearance of a leopard. I knew these were the creatures of Dionysus but asked if it had come under the service of him anyway. "Yes Annabeth, I did and I come with a message from Olympus: fight well or die disgracefully," it said before leaping off.

Then that soldier who was reaching the walls finally reached them and scaled them with just a harpooned length of rope that had been latched on before. He ascended rapidly and I arrived at the fortifications on top of the wall just in time to see him stand up on the harpoon and jump to complete the rest of his trip. I was quick to intercept and kick him in the face hard enough to almost send him back over the wall. He recovered quickly and the helmet fell off his head so I saw that instead of being a living soldier he was, in fact, a soul from the Underworld.

"Oh, hello there child of Athena, how rude of me to go without introducing myself," he said. And that's when I noticed that his eyes were gouged out and that he couldn't see anything out of them. Before he even said his name I guessed it to be Oedipus Rex, former king of Thebes and the victim of a prophecy where he killed his father and married his mother. "Though I prefer to keep that in the past, yes I am Oedipus and I am your doom, Annabeth Chase!" Oedipus said.

I pulled out a shield I had borrowed from one of the fallen demigods near me and placed it in front of me in case he tried to use his sword or any magic. Instead, he simply used his fist and punched a perfect impression of it deep into the shield. "Yes Ms. Chase, when I returned to this world Prometheus gave me a power great enough to lead our armies without weapons. This power is a great physical strength that even Hercules would have found trouble bringing down," he mocked with a loud, deep laughter.

I kept up my defense as he continuously punched deep dents into my shield and I found that I was in a hopeless situation. He was too physically powerful for me to wrestle down and he had already knocked one of the cannons over the wall when it got in the way. Twelve times, I rose my shield in defense and in twelve different spots were permanent and severe dents that would soon render it useless. "You know, I really wished to execute a child of Apollo for what he brought upon me but if I can't do that then an child of Athena might just be the next best thing," he said, lamenting the story of his life before.

"You know Oedipus, you were just a mortal when you first lived so tell me how you came by this strength. I'm always fascinated to hear the victim's side of a story and that one has been a big confusion on me for a long time," I said just when I saw a watchtower and immediately thought of something that just might work. "I have _always _been stronger than the average man for not being a demigod. How else did you think I was able to kill up to a dozen men, including my father Laius, with just my bare hands?" Oedipus explained.

"Go on, what got you even stronger than before?" I inquired. "When Prometheus was in need of someone to lead his armies that had the vengeance, he found me in Tartarus and decided I would be the best candidate out of the senile Sisyphus and that pathetic father of centaurs called Ixion," Oedipus continued. I held my shield up in case he made a move on me again since it was the only thing I could do and kept him talking until I had my back facing the watchtower. Then I threw my shield at him the same way I'd seen Captain America throw his shield at his enemy and while Oedipus caught it, I ran and talked to Connor in the watchtower.

"Listen Connor, I need you to evacuate your soldiers there. The enemy pursuing me is Oedipus Rex and his already abnormal strength has been magnified by Prometheus," I told him in the walkie talkie. "So what does that have to do with leaving the watchtower?" he asked back to me. "There's no time to argue, do as I said and make sure to destroy the pillars on the upper floors on your way out; he's stronger than any of us and I need to know just how much stronger," I answered in the tone of a commander.

"You got it boss, I'll have my soldiers on the job immediately. Oh and one more thing, do you want us to evacuate to the door opposite of where you're about to enter?" he asked. "I do and make it quick," I snapped. "Roger that and I hope to see you after this," he replied.

"You wish to test my strength, do you? Very well, I shall play your game and I shall win," Oedipus declared just before I entered into the watchtower. Luckily, Connor wasn't there nor were any of his soldiers and that speed surprised even me. My only hope was that they had done as I had asked and destroyed all the pillars on the floors above so that when Oedipus destroyed these last ones, the whole thing came down on him.

Then I started some taunting of my own just to get him a little excited. "Oh Oedipus, sure you can punch through my shield but you see that's very thin compared to these pillars. Let's see if you can punch through them and if you punch through all four of them, I'll let you kill me on the condition that it be quick," I told him. "Then consider it done and I _will _have my way with you before you depart from this earth into Hades!" Oedipus boomed with excitement.

It took about seven or eight punches but he blasted through the pillar as though it were nothing. Then I kept encouraging him to take down the last three pillars since I already had him blinded with rage as much as he was blind in sight. But then I had to wonder how he knew me and where to find me when I was in the watchtower. In a matter of minutes, I was behind the last pillar and he was coming for me and at the final moment before he started punching through the doors, I bolted for the wooden pillar at the middle of the ground.

With a quick little punch to it, I destroyed it using a simple trick that Chiron taught me when I was beginning training back at Camp. I made it to the door just in time to see Oedipus destroy the last pillar and bring down the entire tower upon himself. "You little bitch, you tricked me!" Oedipus shouted back to me. "Let's see if you get out of it and in the meantime, I will be repelling your forces off my walls," I replied.

I waved goodbye as the tower caved in on him and considering that he never popped up again, it was reasonable to believe I had succeeded in at least immobilizing him if not killing him. Now I felt proud of myself for that accomplishment and I had the feeling that Hercules and his father would have admired it too. But most important was that my mother would admire it more than anyone else and that's what counted for me. I continued to bark orders and run like a chicken with its head cut off after that duel but I made sure that Chiron wrote it down as something to celebrate when this was over.

When I realized that the fireballs were going to make the difference as to whether the enemy scaled these walls and conquered the camp, I made sure to have my most skilled archers aim for the men at the catapults on the opposite side. All of them were successful in hitting their targets and making the catapults destroy each other with only a couple fireballs running off into the enemy camp. It was then that I saw Prometheus fuming as he should at the loss of his greatest form of artillery and he knew we stood a better chance now than we did before. Now we only had to stall the soldiers until Nico signaled me that his part would soon be done for the camp via the walkie talkie I had given him before he left to do his chore.

"Thank the gods we had that spy to make Prometheus bold enough to venture into the narrow interior of Half-Blood Hill before this happened. Oh hey, since your boyfriend's gone you got another idea about reducing his numbers?" the Apollo leader asked. "Let me put it this way: Nico's initiating the backup plan and if anybody can make what we have in mind work, he can," I answered. "Oh boy, I'm gonna love this," the kid said.

I couldn't agree more with him and I really wish that Percy hadn't left and to my delight, Nico soon gave me the signal that he was clear to go. After that I gave him the signal right back to launch the attack whenever he wanted to. "Hey, pull everyone out, we got a little job from Hades that doesn't need our interference," I said to the leader of the Apollo cabin as well as the Hermes cabin. "Thank the gods my spy made this possible, huh?" Connor asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, we'll have time to celebrate when this assault is over and we have won. That is, _hopefully _we'll have time to celebrate when this ends," I answered him patiently. And that was when I noticed another soul of the dead coming towards the wall and this time, I knew he'd be a little more of a warrior from his armor than Oedipus had been. "Bow before Alexander, son of Zeus!" the soul said and I knew I was in a world of trouble at that point.

If I didn't deal with this guy quickly, he was going to bring the Camp to its knees. Luckily, the bow of a fallen Apollo kid was available and an arrow lied near it for my immediate use. I was not the best shot but I was pretty sure I could hit Alexander the Great from on top of the Camp's walls. My shot was a surprising success, hitting the Macedonian general square in the throat and sending him back to the Underworld but not before he vowed retribution from his supposed father; I snorted and laughed as he left


	9. Nico: Undead reinforcements from Dad

Nico: Using some undead reinforcements borrowed from my awesome Dad for the fight

After the battle began, I had quite a long ways to go from my cabin to the mountains that Annabeth wanted me to be at. She explained that the Spartans specialized in forward momentum and when the enemy was below them, on the bottom of a plain that led to a high hill, that would give the Spartans plenty of forward momentum. So much in fact that no living object could stop them once they started traveling toward their next fight. With that in mind, I told the Spartan soldiers when I went into the Underworld that their target would be a bunch of zombie and skeleton soldiers at which they started laughing.

"Surely you could have given us a better fight with undead Persian soldiers than that. You sure this is all you have for us soldiers of glorious Sparta?" Leonidas, their leader, asked me at that time. "Yes your majesty and I know that's disappointing but this is the worst that the Titan Prometheus could come up with," I told him. "Good enough for me," he said.

That was before I imprisoned him and his army in an orb that could only properly release them if it was broken by a blade made of Stygian ice such as my sword. I held it inside a bag that Persephone provided for me before I left the Underworld. According to her, it would keep the orb safe from all harm until the time came to unleash its power upon the armies of Prometheus. And now, the time was upon me and I had to unleash them before there were too many enemy soldiers approaching the walls of the camp and too few to be effect the overall progress of the army with an attack from the flank.

Carefully, I set the orb so that it faced downwards but it didn't roll from me either. Hey, there was a rock I could take advantage of so I did before that rock could go anywhere! Anyway, I placed the orb there, I took the tip of my sword, recited an incantation that asked my father to return them to Elysium in the event that they died in battle once more, and pushed the tip of my sword so that it drove itself into the orb and cracked it in half like an coconut. The souls of the dead immediately dispersed, reformed to their original shapes, then charged down the hills toward the targeted enemy once Leonidas had them turned in the proper direction.

Once the bulk of his soldiers were on the way, he turned to me and looked at me like he was trying to spook me. A moment later and he might have but unfortunately that was not what he intended. Instead he said, "Thank you and oh by the way, make sure there's not a curse on the orb bounding you to service in the Underworld on it." Then he charged with the rest of his soldiers into battle against the forces of darkness as the night that they had begun their attack in began to fade away slowly.

They were not invincible in the night but they were much stronger than they were in daylight. Which was precisely why Annabeth thought it would be a good idea for either Percy to drown them with his control of the sea or have me summon dead souls. And now I watched as ten thousand Spartan soldiers did battle for the first time in over two thousand years and did so by first throwing their spears then hacking two men on either side of them before being cut down by others. At first, I thought it was going to be a massacre but then I realized something: for every one Spartan soldier that died, four Promethean soldiers died in the process of taking him down.

At that rate, the forty thousand, four-hundred and fifty-eight soldiers that were fighting before I unleashed the Spartan army had dwindled by a full forty thousand by the time the last Spartan soldier had been slain. Prometheus had sent an army that totaled fifty thousand strong at the beginning but not were not even half a hundredth that original number. That made me laugh with both pity for our soldiers at camp as well as the soldiers on the enemy side who had fallen to the Spartan army. After laughing, I noticed that fourteen Promethean soldiers were headed my way and I drew my sword to face them.

Luckily for me, they were having to climb up the hill and all I had to was make the ground turn against them via calling upon the powers of my father to throw the boulders around me. And that's precisely what I did and I watched as the ending result was that eight of them were crushed under the boulders despite the rest persisting. Two of them reached me but I decapitated them with one stroke of my sword before slashing down two more and tricking the final two into killing each other. After that I made my getaway before any more soldiers noticed me and decided it might be a good idea to attack me too.

I signaled to Annabeth that I was still alive and well via a flare she had given me before she sent me off. A flare was returned and I immediately ran back to the safety of the camp with the remaining strength I had in my body. The good thing was that I would be demanding my father to teach me a way to summon souls without too much of a toll like this but for now, sleep was the top thing on my mind. Believe me, that's a lot better than just slipping right into a coma for a few weeks and have to wake up right before a war.

Carefully and with close attention to detail (as close as my ADHD would permit me) I checked to make sure I hadn't been followed. I was all clear and entered the secret door Annabeth had created to the walls leading back to the camp and into my cabin where I could lounge out the rest of the night and most of the day before getting back to work. And don't say I couldn't do that because Annabeth told me that if I did a good job with the souls that Gabriel had permitted me to use and my father had given me the materials to properly use, I could lounge out the rest of it. That is, the rest of tonight's war effort and most of the day if I was not immediately needed.

"Hey Nico, I heard you did an awesome job out there today and claimed the lives of many soldiers! Care for a little fun with the ladies now that you're done with your little battle?" Drew, leader of the Aphrodite camp and sister to her predecessor, asked. "If I wanted fun with ladies I wouldn't be looking for you guys not would I? Back to your stations before I do something a little less exciting than giving my dick to you little wenches," I answered them.

"Fine, whatever, Mr. Old Skull N' Crossbones! Hope you're happy with yourself for this," Drew replied. "I am damn pleased with it actually," I said calmly before I told them to leave the vulgar way. After they left me alone, I laughed hard at comment of calling me Old Skull N' Crossbones because that was perhaps the oldest joke related to the dead that I had ever heard of.

And the funny thing was, whether they knew it or not, it was more related to pirates than death. I opened the door to my cabin, entered it, and closed it in a fluid series of motions before plopping down onto the bed I chose for just me: the one across from the door. Now this was as close to heaven as grim Hades was going to allow me for sure!


	10. Thalia: End of first assault & peace

Thalia: Ending the first assault and the brief peace that followed afterward

Returning from the hunt for Prometheus' homeland, we saw the fires of the catapulted fireballs of the enemy that was attacking Camp Half-Blood. "Hunters of Artemis, ride to Camp Half-Blood in the name of Olympus!" I shouted without hesitation in my heart or mind. All two hundred of us rode toward the enemy immediately and knowing that our arrows never missed their targets, we struck while we were sill several meters away from the enemy. As for me, I called upon the powers of my father Zeus to strike at the clusters of enemies that had gathered around so that we could pick them off like wolves after a kill.

It didn't take us very long to destroy more than twice our number working in unison like this. Each time a hunter of Artemis shot an arrow, I imbued it with the lightning bolt from my father and when it struck, it electrocuted the enemy and caused immediate death. Never had the powers of Zeus in use worn me out quite like this and I knew that if I didn't guide my horse to Camp Half-Blood soon, I would be collapsing on it and sleeping right there. So I was quick to make sure I was infrequent about the usage of it after a while (at most of course) and arrived just before I reached a point of exhaustion.

The gates opened and I entered into Camp Half-Blood for the first time since I was charged with finding Prometheus' base of operations. Luckily for me, people were there to immediately collect my exhausted body before it hit the ground. These were both sons of Asclepius who were on duty and by Annabeth's orders had been sent to take me to my father's cabin. From what I heard after I awoke again, the Hunters of Artemis had had an easy time finishing off what remained without me and I was glad to see that my team did well.

And speaking of them, they were waiting for me in the Artemis cabin when I woke up. According to a son of Hermes, they had been delivered a message by a dying soldier of Prometheus' army that was meant for me. My legs were a little sleepy and I had trouble walking initially but I was glad to see that that quickly passed over me as though the sleepiness of my legs was in parallel with the sleepiness of my mind. "Can I get a nice, hot meal before I do anymore business in this war?" I asked.

"We knew you asked that and we made one just a minute ago for you to eat," the kid said. Sure enough, there was a plump and juicy chunk of ham, several patches of grapes, and a nice loaf of cheese bread. I devoured it all with only two or three cups of soda to wash it all down before walking out of the dining pavilion and heading for the cabin of Artemis. Everyone there was glad to see me and I was glad to see them but when all the formalities were out of the way, Phoebe handed me the scroll with the symbol of an eagle attacking Prometheus on the emblem.

I cut out the emblem and uncurled the scroll to see what the message said. To my surprise, it only contained a few sentences.

_Ms. Thalia Grace, _

_Or is that just Ms. Thalia because I seem to have trouble recalling what you said about hating your mortal mother to the point of refusing her name. That matters little and at any rate, wrote to you to do two things: first, congratulate you on being the leader of the finishing strike that destroyed the bulk of my army. Secondly, I would like you to go to the messenger I have sent under a white flag and give him one of two responses. He will give you a message from me telling you to surrender your arms and kneel before me for the safety of the Camp unless you'd rather keep fighting. _

_As the messenger is undead, he is already expendable so if you were to make him dead again then it would inconsequential to me unless his body returns to me. If that is the case then I will know that you will not surrender and you will try your best to hold out until Gabriel, emotionally confused uncle and my archrival, returns. Be warned that whatever you do, you will lose either way and the Camp will fall _

_Sincerely,_

_The Mighty Titan Prometheus_

I crumpled up the letter and asked for my spear to which one of the Hunters replied that it might be a good idea to have it. After leaving the Artemis Cabin, I asked where the messenger was and an Aphrodite cabin member pointed to the gates. I shook my head because it was a straight and clear shot if I decided to throw my spear at them. Instead, I handed it to Phoebe and drew out my bow and quiver of arrows before pulling out one arrow and aiming it at him.

When I knew that I had higher than ninety percent in terms of my odds of hitting him, I released the arrow and it flew. It tore through the air and as it went, time seemed to stop as it ripped its way toward its target. Then when it finally hit him in the throat, causing him to fall off the horse and unto the ground. The horse turned toward the gate and made a dash for it and since the horseman was tied to the saddle by the ankle, he went along for a drag back to Prometheus' camp.

"I'll never surrender nor will I let anyone in the camp surrender," I vowed. "Gabriel would not have wanted this to go any other way. You've done a good job although I think killing the messenger was a bit much," Annabeth said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Prometheus will be leading the next assault himself since he's run out of generals; if what I recall of there being only Oedipus and Alexander to be correct," I stated.

"Yes, you're correct and I killed both of them. Trust me, it wasn't as easy as it sounds," Annabeth replied. I laughed as did she and that eased some of the tension that the camp was feeling to its very core. "Well I don't know about you crazies but I don't intend to fight in this battle," said Drew of the Aphrodite cabin.

"Who was speaking to the gossiping slut with only an appetite for the dick of power?" I asked before asking for my horse to be readied. "I'll keep that in mind when you need my help," Drew answered. "I don't think I'll be needing your help; come to think of it, I'd rather ask the help of Aeneas or even your mother than you," I said. Annabeth told us both to cool it and Drew to get lost after that and to my surprise, the little bitch agreed.

Now let me tell you, I had no trouble speaking my mind about cowards to cowards. And Annabeth explained that we needed the Aphrodite cabin because they were the ones making the supply runs and if Drew decided to withdraw her people, we'd be in trouble. "We just have to hold our ground until Gabriel returns, whether that requires the aid of the Aphrodite cabin or not," I told her. "On that I can agree because if Gabriel comes back, the tide could be turned completely in our favor and we could beat Prometheus," Annabeth said before we took our positions for the next assault.


	11. Percy: Second attack begins

Percy: The second assault on Camp Half-Blood begins after I return

I came back to Camp Half-Blood and found most of Half-Blood Hill littered with the bodies of Prometheus soldiers and some of the fortifications had taken a noticeable beating. One or two of the watchtowers had fallen down and the portcullis guarding the gates had been blown off by something fiery in design. I called out to the Hermes kids up at the top and told them to open up the gates for me. "How do we know you're not just an illusion of Percy Jackson?" one of them asked.

"If I recall correctly, I splashed Clarisse's fact with toilet water when she wanted to give you a swirly in the bathrooms," I answered. The person who asked me the question was named Randall and it was true that I had saved him from Clarisse's brutality. "Okay you're good, welcome home Percy," Randall said. I chuckled and walked through the gate to see the rest of the damage done to Camp Half-Blood.

A few of the cabins had been scorched but not badly hit except for one and that turned out to be the Ares cabin. _Just my luck to find a fireball had dropped on Clarisse's cabin while I was away _I told myself. But the only thing I was really looking forward to was seeing my precious Wise Girl again and I did soon enough. Though she had a few black marks across her face and forehead with a rip on her jean leg, she looked as beautiful as ever.

"Welcome home Seaweed Brain," she said the moment she saw me. "Thanks Annabeth, I really missed Camp Half-Blood. And oh, sorry for not having the dammed lake built in time for this but I got something else that might be of help," I said. I showed her the conch horn that Eos had given me and told her that I could possibly summon reinforcements with it.

"Can you do that now, just in case Prometheus decides to launch his next assault a little sooner than we'd like?" Annabeth asked. I shrugged and said that I probably could before I decided to do it. No sooner had I finished blowing than Tyson and his entire army of Cyclops appeared in camp. "Uh, why are we here?" Tyson asked.

"Sorry to pull you out from in the ocean, I guess I need you right now big guy," I answered. "Hey, brother Percy, what do you need me and my army for?" he inquired with that big toothy grin that showed peanut butter between the cracks of his teeth. Now that was typical Tyson and I was glad to see that hadn't changed much but I had to be serious. "You see Tyson, there's this big mean Titan named Prometheus who just barely finished attempting to destroy Camp Half-Blood and we need you and our army to help him get him off our turf when he tries to attack again," I explained.

"How dare Prometheus betray the glory of Olympus!" one Cyclops shouted. "What can we do while we wait?" Tyson asked. "You can help us repair the damage Prometheus did and you can have a few of your men look out for some fireballs or some soldiers running down the hill," I answered. Tyson immediately saw to that and I was truly glad to see him working with his men to repair the worst of the damage that happened to the camp.

Some of his men even lifted a few of our fellow demigods up to the roofs of the damaged cabin to give them a nice scrubbing. And just when it seemed that our recovery was complete, fireballs appeared again and I ordered Tyson to form the Cyclopes up to protect the fortifications and the cabins. "All demigods of Camp Half-Blood, to arms!" I shouted. Now I know what you may be wondering: where the hell is Chiron during all of this?

The answer may surprise you but he was taken with Mr. D back to Olympus and was asked to watch how we performed without his leadership. In the meantime, Thalia and I made sure that the Aphrodite kids played their part and the Hypnos kids were keeping up with their little intelligence network we had them start. Thalia rallied up the cabins who were willing to fight and Annabeth placed them where they would be of most use to the cause of saving this camp. Finally, when everything had been completed, I looked back at the cabins who were not fighting but especially the Aphrodite one since they were cowering behind their doors and I felt only disgust.

_They'd fight if Gabriel promised to stick his dick up their asses when this was over _I thought to myself. And while looking at them as well as the cabins who rushed to arms, I climbed up the mound called Zeus' Fist and made sure they were listening to me. "Brothers and sisters of Camp Half-Blood, I see in your eyes the fear I share for what may happen to this camp. But let me tell you, I'm not about to let my fear get the better of me and I'm most definitely not going to let this camp fall into the hands of Prometheus!" I began.

The Ares cabin banged their spears against their shields repeatedly and loudly in agreement. "I might not have a talent for words but I will demand this of you: to all the cabins who will fight with me to defend the camp, have your leaders raise their flag and give their pledge. The rest of you can take a step back out of this formation and walk away when I notice you," I told them. "Zeus' powers as well as the Hunters of Artemis are devoted to you Percy," Thalia said.

"You can count on the minds of the Athena cabin, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said after her. "The souls of Hades are yours to command through me," Nico shouted. "My fellow troops will show them no mercy!" Clarisse declared. "Hermes' children lend their speed and agility to the common cause, Percy Jackson," Connor and Travis Stoll agreed.

I heard the vows of the Apollo, Hecate, Morpheus, Nemesis, and Nike cabins before I was content. It made for a total of more than three thousand demigods and I knew that if we could hold the enemy at the gates, we stood a chance until Gabriel returned. Especially with the aid of the Cyclops who gave us an additional four thousand troops to rely upon, totaling to almost eight thousand troops fighting with me. But we still had to stand our ground against one hundred and forty thousand enemy soldiers.

Then I had a few ideas for how we could handle that extremity much better than we normally would. First, I called all catapults from all sides of the camp to the front and had several Cyclopes manning and reloading them each time they were fired. It would make for a more effective and quicker delivery of blows to Prometheus' army. Next, I had the minor cabins in the front so as to have the first chance to prove themselves plus see how they held up having to rely solely on the phalanx formation.

Lastly, I had all cannons and large crossbows called over to the front of the camp since we knew for certain that Prometheus would not be surrounding the camp. He was overconfident and we wanted to make him pay for that dearly. To conclude things, I had myself at the front and though unfinished, I decided to break the dam on the lake I had created and release the water upon the enemy soldiers. The Cyclopes who were not manning the catapults or the crossbows were also stationed at the front gates to shield the walls from the fireballs since they were immune to fire.

I even gave the approval for them to catch the balls and throw them back at the enemy. To the cabins that were not doing something (like even the Hypnos camp was) and were cowering away from the battle… I turned to them one more time and showed my disgust through what I said next. "You cowards stay here unless you get a change of mind but in the meantime, watch us fight this battle and watch us win it!" I shouted to them.

Then I charged for the gates as they were about to be pulverized by the enemy unless the Cyclopes stepped in. And that they did precisely since they acted as living shields while I connected my mind to the water in that artificial lake, which amounted to hundreds if not thousands of tons of water. Once I was telepathically connected, I told the water to break through the dam and let itself loose upon the enemy troops. It fought hard and long while the Cyclopes kept up their defense but I knew the dam had broken once I saw the water rushing from the right flank of the enemy.

As I had promised it would, it swept away a total of fifty thousand troops before the last drop was finished although it didn't get any of their catapults, thus keeping the fireballs in the picture. So I told the Cyclopes to direct their deflections at the catapults themselves and see to it that they were out of the picture before they could be allowed to do anything else. They did as they were instructed and they killed an additional ten thousand in that process. In gratitude, I told them to go all out and their catapulting brothers would give them cover fire as they went berserk on Prometheus' troops.

"Children of Apollo and Hunters of Artemis, concentrate your fire on the soldiers closest to the Camp walls. Annabeth, direct some manpower at Prometheus while I go see what Thalia can do to help besides gather our infantry into the phalanx," I ordered. "Sure thing, General Jackson!" she replied back to me. To my surprise, Thalia was finished with the formations and was also seeking to do something else while they waited to play their part.

"Thalia, is there anything you want to do now that the troops are assembled?" I asked. "Yeah, how about letting me at Prometheus himself? He's gonna start killing off the Cyclopes if we don't do something soon," Thalia asked. As if to help me find an answer to her question, we heard a Cyclops roar in pain before falling down forward onto more soldiers.

"Hope you mean just to distract him and not fight him head on. Go ahead and get out there but try not to get yourself killed at least until Gabriel comes back," I answered her. "Don't worry, I already have a plan in mind for how to deal with him," she replied to me. Then she told the soldiers along the wall to make away for her to start her little plan to fight Prometheus.

"Hey Prometheus, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" she asked before using the air to levitate herself off the ground. "Oh you wish to meet your doom at my hands, do you Ms. Grace? Very well, I accept your challenge!" Prometheus answered. Then I noticed that he flew after her so that they could have their duel in the sky before she started raining down lightning on him.

I shook my head as I resumed my duties as a general of Camp Half-Blood's army. The catapults kept going and forty thousand more men lied dead by the time we ran out. But it wasn't just the catapults, there was also help from the Cyclopes of course. I knew now that the final fight to hold the fort until Gabriel returned was at last underway.


	12. Thalia: Second attack ends & return

Thalia: The end of the second assault and Gabriel's triumphant return to Camp

I knew it was crazy, no make that foolhardy, to fight Prometheus on my own. But at the same time, I knew I had no choice if I wanted to save the Camp but risk my life fighting him. So when I managed to draw him away from the Cyclopes, who continued their massacre of his soldiers, I knew I had him where I wanted him. So I began pelting him with lightning bolts that he would deflect away from himself with a barrier of telekinetic energy.

Then there was a point where I began to fear for my life and that was when he began throwing the lightning bolts back at me. I had to create lightning bolts that were specifically for defense just to keep up the attack then I knew I was really in trouble when I started losing space to Prometheus. In my first attempt to stop him from taking any more space, I created a Greek shield out of lightning but he easily smashed his way through that. I was pushed back a little ways but knew nothing else to do besides create another shield and that's what I did.

He blasted through that as he had done the last one and I knew I was running out of ideas. I made a third shield and hoped that it would work this time since it was stronger than the other two but he still blasted through it with his hands wrapped in telekinetic energy. Before I could conjure a fourth shield, he rammed his head into my stomach and sent us both crashing to the ground beside the Aphrodite cabin. It was here that I decided to try and zap him with lightning via a punch to the face but he grabbed my fist before I could hurt him and reflected the lightning back into my body, electrocuting me.

The death-match seemed to last eternity but luckily, it was only for a few minutes that I was indecisive as to what to do with the lightning being reflected back into my body. Then I absorbed all of the reflected lightning, letting it in through one system, and letting it leave my mouth to shoot Prometheus in the face. Thankfully, I had released enough lightning onto him at one time for him to be completely thrown off me and sent sprawling across the air for at least three dozen feet. Then he landed on his backside and slid across the ground deep enough to create a small fissure in it.

He quickly rose from it to try and fight me again but he was stopped by something. I felt it too and I wondered what it was but that was before I heard a familiar sound. "Hey Prometheus, Thalia Grace seems to be too much trouble. Care for a son of Cronus instead?" the voice asked.

"Ah Gabriel, returned from finding out the truth about himself in Hyperion's fortress. So now you think you know everything?" Prometheus answered. "Depends on what you mean by everything. If you mean everything about this war then I do from the fact that your army is being wiped out rapidly to the fact that soon, you'll be surrounded by nearly eight thousand demigod warriors," Gabriel replied sharply.

Sure enough, the army came and encircled Prometheus, trapping him with a phalanx at every angle. "Now stay there until I get back and am ready to deal with you as I deem fit. Percy Jackson will be ordering _all _Cyclopes to go on the offensive against what remains of your army and Nico will be returning from outside the Camp's walls to see what he can do for us," Gabriel ordered. "Oh don't worry Johnson, I will be eagerly awaiting your return for it is foreseen that we shall face each other one last time," Prometheus calmly assured him.

While Gabriel went to check on the Cyclopes as well as check on the damage to the camp, Prometheus and I had a nice little discussion. "It seems, Ms. Grace, that your faith in Gabriel was not misplaced after all," Prometheus told me. "When a daughter or son of Zeus knows their right to question what someone says, you better watch out," I told him. "So I have been told by many with a similar spirit to you. So I have been told by your brother," the Titan replied.

My brother? He has seen my long lost kid brother Jason? I had to know where for future reference. "Don't listen to him Thalia, he's just messing with your head like he always takes pleasure in doing," the familiar voice of Chiron said to me. "Oh am I Chiron?" Prometheus asked.

"Yes you are now stay away from her, you understand?" Chiron demanded. "So was I messing with your head when I told you that you had a half-brother by Cronus? Was I messing with your head when I told you that that half-brother had managed to kill Tethys with his bare hands or defeat Hyperion in single combat?" Prometheus inquired. "I… I have… nothing to say there and that was in the past, when you could actually have been trusted," Chiron said, hesitant.

But Prometheus didn't cool off there, instead going further into Gabriel's exploits. "Also, was I messing with your head when I reported that Gabriel was destined to become a knight of Olympus? Was I messing with your head when I told you he would choose to serve Helios, Selene, and Eos (the last of whom, he fell in love with if I recall correctly)?" Prometheus continued. "Silence, you are our prisoner and will stop this talk this very instant!" Chiron commanded.

"Their prisoner yes but not yours for you have in no way earned the right to call me your prisoner," Prometheus said. Chiron then turned and shot an arrow at him but I had a feeling that the smile on Prometheus' face meant that this was what he had been aiming for. Prometheus caught the arrow with telekinesis just before it reached the area between his eyes and burst it into flame before turning it around and sending back to Chiron.

"You think I've been meaning to destroy this camp? I only wanted to lure Gabriel into a final confrontation with me," Prometheus said. "Well too bad that you'll never get that chance unless he says so now," I replied. "He will want to destroy me once and for all, I know him well enough to know that to be true," Prometheus said to me.

Just then, Gabriel flew in with Nico and Percy in each arm as well as Annabeth riding on a horse below them. When Gabriel was just barely floating above the ground, he let go of Percy and Nico then guided himself to a soft landing on his feet. Annabeth dismounted the horse and I thought that that was the worst mistake that she could ever make. When she got close to the enclosure of demigods, Prometheus attacked again and created a massive wave of telekinetic energy that swept all of his captors away except her.

"You know Mr. Jackson, I have always wondered how best to catch you at your worst. Now I know just from the smell of her that Annabeth Chase is closest to your heart besides your mother. Therefore, I think (whether you mind or not I truly don't care) I'll take her for a little ride into the Heart of Tartarus; follow if you dare!" Prometheus said. Percy lunged for him and managed to stop him long enough for me to generate a lightning bolt that could stop the Titan. But he dodged it and threw Percy off before knocking me into the Hypnos cabin and opening a wide and deep fissure for his devious little scheme.


	13. Percy: Prometheus kidnaps Annabeth

Percy: Nico and I witness Annabeth's capture by Prometheus and Gabriel's departure

After creating the fissure, dealing with me, Thalia, and the army, Prometheus grabbed Annabeth and proceeded toward the edge of the fissure. "Follow me into the Heart of Tartarus if you dare do so, Percy Jackson!" he mocked. Then he jumped into the fissure and to my amazement, I heard no scream from Annabeth but I did hear her tell me not to do it. Tell you the truth of it all, I was so confused and my desire to jump in after her was overwhelming all of my rational reason.

Then I broke down and ran for the fissure before Gabriel slammed into me with the momentum of a professional football player. The blow and the push after it were enough to bring me down long enough for him to pin both my arms behind my back. "No Percy, you wouldn't survive a minute (never mind the time it would take you to rescue her) in Tartarus' evil Heart," he told me. "I don't care, just let me have a chance to save Annabeth from that wicked man!" I shouted.

"No, it's too dangerous to have you go after him, I'll go. He's baiting us to see who we'll send and he hopes it's you so he can eliminate both of you. Removing both of you from the picture would be almost as good as removing me," Gabriel told me. I began to cry and I hated myself for it but Gabriel assured me that the tears were perfectly fine with him.

"Real men feel emotion but show restraint in when to show their emotions as well as the quantities they release. You're going to be worse than this so kiss any chance of going to Tartarus goodbye. I'll go, I have less to lose than you do and I've got a score to settle with Prometheus anyway," he added. "What makes you think you'll have a better chance than I would and I know it's not just that?" I asked him.

"I think this is what was meant by the prophecy of my destiny. Would you like to hear it, Percy?" he replied. I nodded and I also asked if he could let go of me. "That I can't do since I know what you'll do but here's the prophecy anyway," he said.

"_The son of Cronus, shall bring the destruction of archaic and rebellious gods. He shall be the most powerful being to exist on the face of the Earth. But to be brought closest to the light of Creation, he must first fall into the darkness of Destruction_," he recited. "Closest to the light of Creation is Olympus and the Darkness of Destruction is the Heart of Tartarus," I said.

"That's what I think it may be and I've already gotten the rest nailed down. That was the one that always got me though when I was a kid. Now I'm eighteen and I'm about to go fulfill the last part of the prophecy if I'm allowed to fall into Tartarus," he said. "Let me go now, we both know you're the one to go," I demanded.

"I'll let you go but I'll still have Thalia hold you back in case you get any ideas," Gabriel said. Thalia came over and took over for Gabriel while he went to Chiron and whispered for something. "Yes, we have it," Chiron said. He went to the attic of the Big Cabin and came back very quickly with what appeared to be a bit of rope.

"What? That bit of rope isn't going to be nearly enough to get you down there safely," I said. "Shut up Percy, your eyes deceive you to the fact that this is Orion's belt as in _the _belt that the giant Orion wore. It can stretch for any amount of time and it is easy to make it stretch, which is even more fun about it," Gabriel replied.

"Gabriel, tie one end to your waist and I'll hold on to the rest as you make the jump," Chiron said. Gabriel did as he was told and strapped one end to his waist while Chiron grabbed the other and moved with him towards the edge of the fissure. Just by looking at the fissure, I could tell that it extended hundreds if not thousands if not hundreds of thousands of miles into the earth. I wondered how Gabriel was going to be successful in getting down there without the belt pulling him back up and sending him flying into Olympus.

And that was something I even asked him myself before he jumped. "It doesn't work like that Percy, it just stretches to a length and then stops once it's not being stretched. The cool thing about this is we'll be having Briares help pull us up when I tug on the belt three times, like so," he said before demonstrating. "But how can we be certain that you'll even return?" I asked.

"You can't be," he answered. "Don't you dare leave without giving me a kiss goodbye," someone said to Gabriel. We all turned in the direction of the voice to see that it was Eos who had uttered the words. Gabriel laughed briefly and went over to her with Chiron following, fulfilling her wish being the first thing in mind.

"I almost forgot my beloved Eos, how rude of me forget about thee whose light warms my heart at the mention of thy name," Gabriel said. "Oh stop it Gabriel, you're just flattering me so that you can get more than just a kiss off me," Eos replied. "Nonsense, why would I do such a thing to the goddess of the dawn herself when she can probably see through me?" Gabriel asked. "To try and do what all men do and get more out of woman than a kiss," Eos answered.

"Oh come on, we both know I'm not like that," he said before trapping her in a hug. She giggled and hugged him back, even giving his ass a squeeze for us to see with her hands. He squeezed hers back quickly but Gabriel swiftly and gently brought them to the point before they got too swept away by their love. "Do you really have to go?" Eos asked.

"Yes, I have to. Percy isn't powerful enough to survive the perils of Tartarus and I have a bone to pick with that son of a bitch," Gabriel answered. "You keep cursing around me and I'm going to have to rinse your mouth out," Eos told him. "Too bad no one's done a good job otherwise I'd be talking in perfect verse," Gabriel replied before both of them began laughing.

"Now shut up and kiss me before we waste any more time, you fool! You got niece to save who happens to be your nephew's gal," Eos ordered. Smiling, he slowly and passionately obeyed her as they shared a kiss that told you it was their last but had no rush in it. It was rather savory and I couldn't believe I didn't do that with Annabeth more often but when you're a mortal, you never know when you might die.

Gabriel then whispered something to her, probably goodbye, before returning to the fissure that Prometheus had made and was keeping open somehow. Maybe he hadn't reached Tartarus and Gabriel could get to her before they were even halfway to the entrance point. Gabriel himself took his time getting back to the widest and deepest part of it then slowly extended a foot over the edge. "All of you, before I go, I have only one request should Annabeth and I both die: remember us," he said.

And just like that, he made the plunge down the fissure and out of our lives once more to retrieve Annabeth. But for some strange reason, I felt glad rather than sad that he had departed again but it was probably for my own selfish reasons. Think about it, even though I had done wonderful deeds for the Camp, they paled in comparison to what he had done. When I was still getting used to fighting like a Greek, he was already killing full-fledged gods with a variety of tactics from bare hands to swords.

And though I had Annabeth to consider as my love interest, he had the love of an immortal goddess! Plus, even though the Curse of Achilles increased my speed and stamina in every way, it left me exhausted. He outdid the greatest feats the Curse could allow me to do and he barely broke a sweat accomplishing those feats! Okay, so I sound a bit jealous but I am jealous to tell you the truth.

Now I was watching him go off to save _my _girlfriend at the insistence that the horrors at the Heart would destroy me. Sad thing is, he probably was right about that since that's where you never knew whether or not a power like the Curse could keep you safe. In fact since a primordial goddess inadvertently invented the curse, there was the possibility that other primordial deities could destroy you in their territory. And that goddess was named Styx, yes like the river of which she is the namesake, who had been very powerful back in her day plus the first goddess to side with Zeus in the war against the Titans until her untimely demise during it.

But I had heard that before she passed on, she embedded the river with her strength and that had been her invincibility save at one point in her body. Then when the Titans discovered she no longer had that power by killing her, they likely scoured the universe for it in the knowledge she hid it somewhere. My guess is they just never looked in the right direction because they certainly didn't find any sign of it until the days of Achilles for whom the curse is named after. All of that is beside the point but I felt like I should just get that out of my system and I'm thankful I actually learned something from all Annabeth's little lectures to me.

Then it hurt even more to know that she was the one taken down to Tartarus and not me. I guess it's just my fatal flaw talking but I would rather have taken her place for Prometheus' little trip to that dark and evil place. Okay, so that definitely sounded like my fatal flaw that I care too much for others talking indeed. But this was a time where it could get the better of me and I had to wonder if Gabriel even _had _a fatal flaw.

That's when Eos seemed to read my mind and say that he did have a fatal flaw. "What is it?" I asked. "He fears the past and will not confront it lest it be wishing insanity. Hopefully, he can overcome it in the Heart of Tartarus or else either you never see your loved one again or he does not return to me or both," she answered.

"Let's see what happens when he gives us the signal that he has successfully rescued her. Assuming he's even alive to give us that signal when we hope to get it from him," I said to her. "I have faith that he will survive long enough to see to it that Annabeth returns to you at the very least. Be grateful he's done this you know, he could very easily have just let you die," Eos said before disappearing.

That was true, I had to admit that that could very easily have been the case but I still felt somewhat resentful. "True but that doesn't change the fact that I should be down there in his place, rescuing Annabeth as is fitting for my place as her boyfriend," I said. "Perhaps and then, perhaps not but I would advise a prayer to the more powerful gods for luck in case you're wrong?" Eos asked. I knew better than to make her mad and nodded my head before beginning a prayer. Let me put it this way: I simply requested Gabriel and Annabeth's safety during this whole affair with the Heart of Tartarus to Zeus.


End file.
